The Hunter of the Question
by LordFrieza
Summary: AU Huntress and Question in the aftermath of CADMUS with a twist
1. Chapter 1

_**(AN:I want to say that this story was inspired by Janagirl's Nice Guys, and The Lady Isis' Parallels. I also want to thank my co-Author Janagirl for helping to flesh out the idea. This is as much her story as it is mine. Well with that out of the way let's get this thing started.)**_

The Hunter of the Question

Alexandra Luthor casts me an amused look over her shoulder as I move toward her silently.

Her lips curl into a Cheshire cat grin, "Question, isn't it? I believe you have something that belongs to me."

As my hands quickly remove the tie I'm wearing, I stalk near Alexandra, or 'Alex', Luthor knowing what has to be done. I begin to speak as I get closer to Alex, "Have you seen the latest polls? It's starting to look like you're going to be our next president; just like in that other world."

A smirk crosses Alex's face as she watches me, the League's Conspiracy nut. Her smirk turns into a chilling smile as she watches my tie tighten in my hands. "I wouldn't bet against me."

I nod my head. After all, there is no reason to alarm her any more than she already is; not that she shows it. "No, it wouldn't be prudent. I want you to understand something, Luthor; although my distaste for you as a human being is brobdingnagian what I'm about to do isn't personal."

Luthor ** her head to the side as she watches me. "What are you babbling

about?"

I look at her and decide that I have to explain; after all, she needs to know why I'm here to do this. "Everything that exists has a specific nature and possesses characteristics that are a part of what it is. A is A. And, no matter what reality he calls home, Luthor is Luthor. If I'm to save the world, your existence must come to an end, before you take office."

A light laugh escapes from Alex causing her smirk to grow even more, if possible. "...You're going to kill me so that Superwoman can't."

Once again I nod. I'm so close to her now that she won't be able to escape; neither of us will. I'll rot, I know that I'll rot, but I can rot knowing that I saved the planet, knowing that for once in my miserable life I became whole with Halen as he made love to me. "I'm a well-known crackpot. The Justice League's reputation will survive my actions, and Superwoman's legacy will remain intact."

The tie finds its way around Alex's neck before she grabs me and lifts me effortlessly into the air, the reason my plan had been amusing becoming perfectly clear. "Interesting plan. Unfortunately for you, it's not really an option."

I feel the hard sting of a fist hitting me while Luthor strikes my face again and again before hurling me against the table. I feel my legs burn and then go numb, saying a silent prayer they're not broken. Once more she hoists me up in the air and it takes every ounce of strength left in me to keep from screaming in pain.

"Now, tell me about what you saw." Alex hisses.

I refuse to speak as she glares at me, debating what to do next. Suddenly I find myself flying across the air until fire scorches through my spine from the impact of me crashing against the window. To my horror I feel it give way as I begin to fall out of the building and down towards Metropolis. My mind isn't on Luthor, the conspiracy, or any such thing. Instead I find myself thinking about my Halen and wishing that I had more time to be with him.

A scream escapes me and the world shatters.

(Halen and Victoria's bedroom)

I feel two strong arms around me as soft shushing calms my cries.

"Shhhh, it's alright, Babydoll; I'm here." I hear Halen's gentle voice coo as his lips soothingly kiss my red hair.

I relax into him and to be honest I'm glad that he talked me into sleeping in the nude like he always does, even though when we do this sleep isn't what usually occurs. But right now the feel of his skin on my own is enough to drive the nightmares away as I move until I come to rest between his legs. His arms wrap around my waist as he holds me like a child and I feel so safe. The sound of his heart beating slowly relaxes me like a lullaby until I almost fall asleep.

"Do you want to talk about what causing your nightmares?" He asks cautiously, tightening his grip around my tiny waist.

I stiffen and can almost feel his anxiety as he continues to hold me. It's been an unwritten rule between us; he doesn't ask about what happened at CADMUS, and I try to forget it. The problem is that anywhere I am with white walls, the unmistakable sterile smell of a hospital, or uniformed techs and guards running around, it sets me on edge and I begin to silently panic.

_How can I tell you about what they made me see? The alternate realities they created that don't even exist. Worlds where they made me kill you, worlds where you were killed in front of me, or where I was killed in front of you. Realities they created where you turned on the league after my death and joined with the likes of Silvia Wilson and Walmart._ I think as I feel his hands soothingly rub my back.

"I don't want to talk about it." I whimper softly.

Halen slowly nods before smiling a smile I know all too well. He rests his head on my shoulders and whispers into my ear, "Would you like me to make the nightmares go away for a while?"

For the first time since I awaken I softly smile, right now that is exactly what I want. "Yes, please." I whisper quietly, beginning to grind my hips against him.

The faintest smile on my lips grows as I feel him hardening against my inner thigh, his hands moving to cover my breasts. It never ceases to amaze me how drawn to them he is, especially since I've always found two jiggling balls of fat on my chest to be annoying and pointless.

As he teases my nipples to life, my mind begins to think that maybe they're not so pointless after all. Soon the feel of it, the scent of him, the gentle kisses and light nips on my neck causes my own arousal. I turn toward him and kiss him lightly, sucking his lower lip between my own. My hands find his stiff member and I begin to stroke him.

The first time I touched him so intimately it had been a long time since I'd pleased a man. I had been fearful he wouldn't like it, but within moments I had him reduced to a whimpering puddle pleading for more, much like he is now.

"Halen…" I groan as I feel a finger enter me. I begin to moan his name again and again as he rubs my clit, and I know that soon my mind will enter into a primordial stage where I will care for nothing else other than having him inside of me.

The thought crosses my mind that perhaps adult shops are in league with the Illuminati for world domination because of this loss of self-control, but the thought is gone within seconds as he lays me down and kisses lower and lower until his tongue enters me. I begin to lose important pieces of information as he gives me such delicious pleasure, moaning for him not to stop.

When I finally reach my peak after being pleased until I began to fear dying of from so much pleasure, my own name escapes me as I climax, gasping his. After coming down from the high it dawns to me that Halen looks rather pleased with himself, and I begin to feel the urge to please him as much as he pleased me.

Determined to take control back, I slowly move until I am able to take him into my mouth. I hear his soft whimpers and feel them inside of me, loving my ability to make him so happy after all he does for me. Soon, both of us can no longer stand it and I find myself on my hands and knees, Halen's hot breath panting on my spine. Despite the crudity of the position there is nothing but love and tenderness in his touch.

We climb the delicious mountains of pleasure together and collapse into the bed after reaching the peak at the same time. I smile knowing that the nightmares will not return tonight, and knowing that the only person that really matters loves me.

"Better?" Halen yawns, stroking my hair.

I snuggle onto his chest and smile lightly, "Yes. Did you enjoy it, too?"

"Of course I did, babe." He grins. "You're getting better and better at that."

I feel color rise to my cheeks, half in pride, half in embarrassment. "Thank you."

"No problem, I mean practice makes perfect and I really love to practice with yo-"

"Not that, Halen, I mean...for everything." I explain shyly, thanking anyone for anything is not something I'm used to. "You've been so good to me after all that's happened. Not just that but you're probably the only reason I got out of there in the first place."

"Damn straight I got you out of there. Victoria, they were fucking torturing you! When I got there you were strapped to a table being...being..." He gulped quietly, hating the memory. "You know."

"Electrocuted?"

"Yeah, that." He frowns. "Hell, I only know that because I saw it, other than that I don't have any idea what they did to you."

I flinch at the bitterness in his voice. "I tell you things that happened there."

"Yeah, when you're talking in your sleep and have no idea you're doing it!" Halen snaps. His voice softens when he sees the look on my face, "I'd trust you with my life, Q, don't you trust me?"

I turn away, ashamed. "Yes, more than anyone." Of course I trust him; I love him. Halen is my other half, the one good thing in my miserable life. That's why I can't tell him, if I did he'd leave me and I'd be broken.

If Halen knew everything they did to me he'd never be able to look me in the eyes again. He knows that they were shocking me to get me to reveal my knowledge, but that's it. He has no idea that they made me see things, such horrible things, that they beat me until I bled and fell unconscious, or that they...

I gulp quietly, no way will I ever tell Halen that. I can't tell him about any of it, especially not what that bastard did that to me, much less that I enjoyed it. He would never understand, instead of seeing me as his Victoria he'd view me as worthless scum he had no desire to be with.

I don't think I could take him leaving me.

"Victoria, you there?" He teases, brushing a lock of red hair from my face.

"S-Sorry, I was thinking." I apologize,smiling at him bravely, "I'm fine."

He studies my face for a moment before sighing and planting a kiss to my forehead, "No, you're not. Why won't you tell me, baby? I love you and I always will."

_Because if you know what happened you won't love me anymore_. "I already told you it's nothing." I say instead.

He lets out a sigh and pulls me as close as possible; hugging me so tight I can barely breathe. I should be more concerned about my lungs, but I'm enjoying it far too much to tell him to stop. "Really Halen, I'm fine."

But as we drift off to sleep holding each other close, we both know how much of a lie that is.


	2. Chapter 2

_**(AN: Again I want to thank my coauthor JanaGirl123 for helping with this chapter. I also want to thank The Lady Isis for the use of Bella Wayne-Prince, Damien Prince, Rachel Grayson, Benjamin Gordon, and Olivia Queen-Lance. Thanks Isis. I also suggest that you please read JanaGirl's fantastic Question and Huntress stories. They are fabulous, and Please check out Isis' stories. I strongly suggest Parallels and Divergence. Thank you,**_

_**LF)**_

_**The Hunter of the Question**_

_**Chapter 2**_

I take a small bit out of my sandwich and savor the flavor, trying not to think about the theories Victoria tells me about how they make these delectable lunches.

Between my thoughts on the possibility of dying from eating a pastrami sandwich on rye with extra mustard and the thoughts of the previous night, I'm paying almost no attention to my old friend Rachel Grayson, AKA Nightwing.

"So then I broke through the glass and you know what Catman was doing?"

"Huh? Oh, what?" I reply absently, wondering how to figure out what Victoria's hiding from me.

"Stealing another painting! I mean what the hell, right?"

"Yeah."

"And as if that wasn't enough when he finally got it he escaped in the car from Back To The Future."

"That happens sometimes." I agree, now completely zoned-out.

"Yep, and when I finally caught up with him he was juggling turnips and making love to Batwoman."

"Oh, that's nice."

A smack on the arm jolts me back to life. "Hey!"

I turn to see Rachel glaring at me from across the small table. "Hi, welcome back to Earth. Next time your in la-la land could you at least pretend to listen to what I'm saying a little better?"

"Sorry." I shrug, not really meaning it.

She props her elbows on the table and rests her head on her hands, eyeing me suspiciously. "Uh-huh, so do you want to tell me what's bothering you?"

Do I *want* to tell her? "No."

"Then let me re-phrase; is there something going on with you that you're going to tell me?"

"It's Victoria." I admit with a sigh, rubbing the back of my neck. "She's still having nightmares and then to top it off she won't tell me what they're about. Hell, she won't even tell me what they did to her. It feels like she's trying to hide something from me that happened to her, something really bad. She's always giving me these guilty looks, too, like she did something wrong. I can't explain it, but the way she acts after a nightmare or when I ask her about them or even about what happened, all of it just points to the fact that something very, very wrong happened to her."

Rachel shoots me an odd look, "Of course she seems wrong; she was tortured."

"No, it's not just that. Well, maybe it is, but not the torture I was thinking of. I was sure that she would open up about it, but I'm getting less and less sure now. She hardly eats anything, she jumps when you touch her, hell she even acts different in bed!"

"How so?"

"I don't know, I mean she's just seems so much more eager to please me; before Cadmus she'd only gone down on me once. Now it's like she has to do it otherwise I'll be mad at her or something."

"So she's been more generous in bed and is willing to suck your dick whenever you want? That hardly sounds like something *you* would complain about." Rachel snorts.

"It worries me because she didn't do it before Cadmus." I explain gruffly. "And I never said I don't enjoy it. I just...I just don't know what to do to help her."

"Do you love her?" Rachel asks taking a sip of her mocha.

"Of course I do! I mean I would do anything for her, but I can't do anything if she won't talk about it." I finish angrily, taking a swig of my now cold coffee.

"Then you need to be there for her. She'll need your support, and right now she might just be too scared to talk about it." Rachel opined.

I try to wrap my mind around the strange concept of Victoria being frightened of anything or anyone. "Q? Scared? She's never been scared of anything."

"Everyone gets scared. You and I get scared, Bella Wayne gets scared, and we all know that Olivia does." She added with a small smirk, finishing her drink.

I think about Olivia Queen–Lance and the time we found her curled up into a ball crying her eyes out. She had bragged to everyone about being able to take on Batwoman's enemies, but a single blast of Dr. Joann Crane's fear gas had caused the Green Arrow to turn into a quivering, gibbering, and quaking mess. Still, that was from a gas designed to induce fear, and as far as I knew they didn't use that on Victoria.

"So, what have you been doing to keep her from having nightmares?" She continued, pressing me for more information.

My lips twitch into a small smirk as I think of how I distracted her just last night. "What do you think?"

Rachel shakes her head as she lets out that charming yet annoying laugh of hers, " Yeah, I figured that was what it was. You know Halen, your dick doesn't cure everything."

Feeling slightly offended I shoot back, "I vaguely remember you singing a different tune a few years ago."

"Yeah, yeah, but I've grown up since then." Her eyes flicker to the door as a tall, muscular redhead strolls in.

"Ben! I'm so glad that you could make it!" She smiles, giving the redhead a kiss as he sat down next to her.

Benjamin Gordon looks hard at me for several seconds. We're friends, no denying that, but he knows when he ended things with Rachel it had hurt their friendship and almost killed any chance they had of having a relationship ever again. I still can't believe that he ended a relationship with Rachel for Bella Wayne, of all the cold-hearted rich bitches in Gotham. I've heard that Bella's a fantastic lay, an incredibly flexible woman that's not very hard to bed. But she could be so cold, so distant. Rachel on the other hand was warm, and when she loved someone she loved them completely.

I raise an eyebrow when I notice he's staring at me, and not just because I'm attractive. "Got something to say, Gordon?"

Ben crosses his arms and scowls at me. "I don't know; should I have something to say?"

"Can't you guys be civil for once?" Rachel sighs in exasperation.

I look him straight in the eye like I do with my students when I'm making a point. "Ben, let me put this simply... I slept with Rachel a long, long time ago. A time where you broke up and were sleeping with Ms. 'Stick in her ass' Wayne. Since then both Rachel and I have moved on. I've found my Victoria, and for some reason beyond my understanding she's taken you back. She obviously likes you better than me, so let's please be civil and friends around Rachel like we are when she's not here."

Pleased with my answer he nods and then looks at Rachel. "Sorry."

"It's fine." She shrugs. "Having men fight over me is actually kind of nice. How was work?"

"Another day as a computer genius working in Gotham." He replies, pulling her towards him and giving her a deep kiss.

The wall next to me suddenly becomes fascinating as I try to ignore their heavy breathing and the light slap of tongue as they kiss. No wonder people feel awkward when Victoria and I are affectionate in public.

"So, what's going on?" Ben Gordon asks after finally taking a moment to breathe.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, something's got to be going on that made you meet Rachel for lunch. It's obviously a problem with you and the faceless chick; are you guys breaking up?" He asks.

My lip twitches in irritation as Rachel groans and drops her head into her hands. "No, we're not. Why would you ask that?"

"I don't know, she just seems a little...odd. Don't get me wrong I mean you're a cute couple and all, but you and Vicki wouldn't really work in the long-run, you know?"

I cringe as I hear the name Vicki. "It's Victoria, not Vicki. She doesn't like being called Vicki and I don't like calling her that. Sounds like I'm talking about one of those stupid rats that people haul around with them." I stand up to leave practically storming out of the restaurant, only turning back to add one more thing. "You know, nobody thought you and Rachel would last long, either. Yet here we are."

I see Rachel smack Ben on the head as I leave, no doubt preparing to lecture him.

Sighing to myself I quickly exit the cafe and head home to Victoria.

It's a hell of a lot better than staying here.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When I get home the familiar and slightly horrid scent of Victoria's cooking greets me. I open the door to see her at the stove attempting her hardest to fix spaghetti, walking towards her in time to hear her swearing at a pot with the noodles burnt to the bottom of it.

My arms wrap around her waist as I feel her tense up, gripping the wooden spoon in her hand hard enough to turn her knuckles white. "Hello, beautiful."

At the sound of my voice she immediately relaxes, turning around to greet me. "I wanted to surprise you. Didn't want to do pizza again."

"Um..." I glance almost fearfully at the pot of horrors on the stove. "That's very...thoughtful."

"Suppose it would have been if the damned pot wasn't evil." She scowls. "I told you not to by anything made by Tupperware."

"Maybe it was for the best..." I murmur, stepping forward. "I'll make it instead, go set the table."

Halfway through our meal I'm on my third helping of spaghetti when I glance up at Victoria still picking at her first serving. "What's the matter? Didn't it come out okay?"

"Hm? Oh, it's great." She mutters, flashing me a faint smile and taking another bite. "Just not very hungry."

I fight back the urge to tell her she's never hungry anymore. "Are you sure? I could make you something else if you'd like."

I looked at her as she bows her head down, an expression I can't quite place on her face. If I didn't know any better I'd swear it was guilt. "It's fine, thank you."

"Baby, I really think you should eat something." I press. "Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, Halen." She replies quietly. "I think I'm just going to go and shower."

I nod my head and watch her stand up from the table, walking towards me and placing a quick kiss on my cheek. "Thank you for making me dinner."

"No problem. Hey, Victoria?"

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

She gives me that look again. That strange, stupid look that I don't understand. "Of course, what would make you think I'm not?"

"...Nothing." I sigh in defeat. "Go take your shower."

_If she keeps this up bad hygiene will be the least of her problems._


	3. Chapter 3

**_(AN: Again Thanks to JanaGirl for helping to coauthoring this and for betaing it. Also Thanks to The Lady Isis for the use of Benjamin Gordon, Rachel Grayson, Bella Wayne-Prince, Damien Prince, and Olivia Queen-Lance)_**

**_The Hunter of the Question_**

**_Chapter 3_**

The familiar feel of a solid wood floor connects with my feet as I walk into the small training area that was part of the urban renewal project and had been donated to the current owner some years ago. I hear the sound of a wheel chair moving towards me and I bow slightly towards the person sitting in it.

"Master Dragon." I greet her as I look at the woman staring at me.

"Victoria… You are not at peace with yourself." She says before I can say another word to her. "Is there something you wish to speak about?"

"Not at the moment, Master." I answer honestly.

I follow her into the office where she trades the wheel chair for an office chair, remembering how she had fooled me before by making me believe that she was crippled. I know now that it was simply to teach me to never, ever underestimate my opponent. This time, however, the cast on her leg points out that the wheel chair is necessary, or at least somewhat necessary.

"What happened to your leg, Master Dragon?" I ask.

"Shiva happened." My old sensei replies wearily. "Once again he comes into my life and promises that he has reformed, telling me that someone he knows is in terrible trouble and convinces me to follow him. I go, and there I find an illegal fight. I try to leave, but it's no use and at the end of the fight Shiva kicks me in the leg before he leaves. The bastard then kisses me and tells me thank you for getting him out of trouble by winning the fight!" Renee Dragon rants to me as she shakes her head, scowling.

"But you are not here for that; I can tell that you are troubled. Your spirit is in turmoil; something has happened and it has shaken the very foundation you walk upon." She continues.

"Yes, yes it has." I murmur as I look at her in the eyes.

Her blue eyes study my face for several seconds before she shakes her head. "Victoria, I cannot give you back the peace you lost. Meditation and controlling your chi helps, but what will give you peace is opening the secret you carry. It burns inside of you, I can see in your eyes how the weight of it has ground against you until it has nearly hollowed you out from the inside."

"He won't understand." I whisper, breaking eye contact.

"You speak of Halen." She says knowingly.

I nod and look at her, asking a wordless question.

"I know the lives of my former students." She smiles tiredly. "I know that you saved him, and that you kept him from killing Stephanie Mandragora, even though the woman deserved everything that would have happened to her. You gave Halen his life back, gave him something to believe in, and you gave him the love he didn't realize he needed. He will not turn his back on you, Victoria." She assures me.

"How do you know that?" I whimper. "How do you know that once I tell him what happened, that I explain how dangerously close I came to breaking, and how… how I betrayed him…" I say as tears form and begin to flow down my cheeks.

Renee reaches for me, but I stand and begin to leave. It was pointless to come here. Renee is right; the only way I can get rid of what happened is to share it, but I can't. I can't tell Halen what happened because I can't live without him. Inside I feel my desperation turning into anger and the sound of a scream down the street calls to me. I move quickly to my car and within seconds I'm stronger. The mask, the trench coat, and the suit make me stronger. I'm not fail like this. No, in this form I'm stronger. I move down to the alley where the screams are echoing, peering in to see two men crowding on a woman.

"Go ahead and scream bitch, 'cause there ain't no one comin'." The one to the right snarls, cracking his knuckles.

I look at the area around me and lift a discarded beer bottle. Within seconds it flies and hits the attacker on the left with a near perfect accuracy. Before the attacker on the right can do anything, I rush toward him and deliver a hard blow to his crotch. The sound of something popping gets my attention as he screams and hits the ground, grabbing himself in agony.

"Leave, call the police." I order to the frightened woman as I leave.

The rest of the night is quiet, and I decide that it is getting close to time to leave and head home. I stop when I hear something, turning to see a shadow out of the corner of my eye.

"Question." The Bat all but growls at me.

"Batwoman." I state as I turn to look at her.

"You came close to crossing the line, the only line." She continues as she stares me down.

"Alive, aren't they?" I retort in no mood for a lecture.

"There are others out there that deserve what happened to those two punks just as bad, but this is the first time that you caused trauma severe enough to warrant immediate emergency surgery. This doesn't have to deal with CADMUS, does it?"

"No." I state, even though I'm sure that we both know I'm lying.

"Hmmm… Know that I'm watching you. And a free piece of advice; leave what happened to you away from patrolling." She adds, disappearing back into the shadows.

I ball my fists and close my eyes for a moment. _Leave it? Leave it? How can I leave that behind! You self-righteous bitch!_

I open my eyes to tell her this to her face, but she's already gone. I turn and head to the car, sitting inside and trying not to think of what those two bastards intended to do to that girl. The memories of what happened at CADMUS to surface, much to my repulsion. I clench my eyes shut and let a shaky breath out, knowing I need Halen. I need to hear his voice, to have him hold me and promise that everything will be okay. The car starts and I drive like a mad woman toward our apartment building, parking the car in the normal place and leave it looking like myself instead of the Question. I walk inside and see Halen standing there, much to my relief.

He is dressed for patrol, and my eyes map the deliciousness of his figure. The way his bare chest almost glows, and his washboard abs stare back at me. The domino mask that hides his identity, but leaves the perfect mouth that begs to be kissed. I move toward him and kiss him with as much passion as I can muster, but when I feel his arms wrap around me I suddenly I collapse into sobs.

"Q?" He asks, but I can't say a word. I cry as it finally surfaces. I cry as the memory takes hold and commands attention. I cry as the violation, the humiliation, and the guilt builds.

"Babydoll…?" He murmurs before I finally look up and what Renee told me makes perfect sense.

I open up to him, beginning to tell him everything. I watch as his fists clench and his arms shake with rage. I explain the torture; I tell him the visions that I saw, that I still see in my dreams.

"Victoria…" He murmurs, holding me close. "What exactly did you see?"

"Other worlds." I sniffle, holding onto him so hard I fear he might have bruises. "I saw Luthor kill Flash and the world exploding. They-They made me kill you or had you kill me, and other worlds where the Illuminati take over. Oh, Halen, I-I thought it was real, I mean it all looked so true-"

He cuts me off with a soft kiss, stroking my face as he holds me like a child. "Is that all?"

I bite my lip so hard it hurts, tears pouring down my face as the worst of my sins eat at me. "Halen, I-I slept with another man."

His entire body freezes as he stares at me in disbelief. "Victoria, wh-what?"

The sadness in his voice piles onto my guilt as I choke out the full story. "Wh-When they had me hooked up to that machine, the one that made me see things, they made me see you rescuing me. I-I was so happy, so damn happy…" I pause in mid-sentence to swallow, screwing my eyes shut so I don't have to see his face.

"You took me home and kissed me, and everything finally seemed okay. I watched you pick me up and carry me into our room. Oh God, it felt so good to be with you again! You-You laid me down on our bed and took off our clothes, kissing me everywhere. When you finally got inside me I thought I would die from pleasure, I didn't even notice how rough you were being until it started to hurt. I-I asked you to please be gentle but you laughed and started to thrust harder, calling me your bitch." I take a deep breath. "That's when I noticed something was wrong."

I can feel his arms tremble in anger as he holds me, barely able to choke out, "Then what happened?"

"You raped me." I whisper. "But it felt so good! I-I had missed you so much, I begged you not to stop, to go even harder. After you came they turned the machine off and when I opened my eyes I saw… I saw a guard slide out of me instead of you. I started to cry as he laughed, calling over his friends. He-He did it again and again, this time keeping the machine off so I knew and letting his friends watch."

"Victoria…" He whispers, voice thick with emotion. "How… Why would you think I'd be mad at you?"

"Because I liked it." I whimper in shame, unable to look him in the eyes. "The first time he did it, I-I liked it a lot."

"Baby… You-You were under mind control. You didn't know it was fake, baby, it's not your fault."

"Then why do I still feel guilty?" I choke out.

"I-I don't know, but you shouldn't. Why… Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I… I didn't think that you would want me anymore… That I would become another piece of scum… A low life that was worthless." I admit softly, finally sitting still and fearing the worst. I fear he will leave me, that he will tell me he doesn't want me anymore, but instead I feel warm arms around me.

The tears flow and we both know that they aren't tears of relief, but of guilt and grief. He had known that something has been broken inside of me, and now he knows what it is. Gently, he kisses my forehead. I hear him softly shushing me and feel him rubbing my back.

"I… I didn't think I could take it if you left me, I still don't. I was so afraid if you ever found out that-" He cuts me off by kissing me softly, holding me close against him.

I look up at him in wonder as he once again begins to speak, "Q, you know me. I love you more than I can ever say. What they did, and what that son of a bitch did to you was not your fault." He breaths out as his chocolate eyes meet my turquoise ones.

I feel him lift me as I continue to cry into his chest. The weight is gone, but what is left is broken. I fear that the broken woman that Halen lays down on the bed, the broken woman he whispers to that he loves her, the same one he gently dries the tears running down her cheek and then kisses softly and tender. It is this woman that I fear won't be good enough for him. That will never be good enough for him. I fall asleep as I hear him promising that it will be all right, and that they will pay.


	4. Chapter 4

_**(AN: Victoria's point of view was written completely by Janagirl. I think that it was perfectly written and fits wonderfully. Thanks again for reading, and please, review.)**_

_**The Hunter of the Question**_

_**Chapter 4**_

(Victoria's POV)

I slip out of the small shower stall quietly, ringing the remaining water in my hair out with my hands and stepping onto the cool tile.

I reach for a towel on the other wall, pausing to study my reflection in the mirror for a minute. A slightly crooked nose, eyes that can't decide whether they want to be green or blue, and a mess of repulsive hair the color of rust look back at me as I continue my evaluation of myself.

Teacup breast not worth bragging over, barely there curves, scars, and my ribs showing through my skin. Deteriorating muscle, a yellowing bruise, and a far too skinny frame continue to taunt me as I observe my too small and too weak body. I gently trace an outline of one of my ribs; maybe Halen was onto something when he said I should be eating more.

I gulp quietly at the thought of his name, turning back to critiquing my appearance. Gone are the abs I had once proudly sported, and if I travel a little further the only part of me that will ever be wanted stares back at me. I can still see him sliding out of it with a laugh, proud at what he'd done.

The thought sickens me as I unconsciously clench my fists, the memories beginning to pour out. Halen is smiling and kissing me; a guard is snarling and nipping my neck. I am in heaven and whispering for Halen to go even harder; I am in hell begging for my tormentor to stop. I am being touched with nothing but love; I am being violated with nothing but cruelty.

I am a slut, a whore.

It's not the act itself but the fact that I enjoyed it makes me the slut I am. It doesn't matter that I was falsely lead to believe my Halen was loving me instead of that bastard, or that Halen assures me he isn't mad at me. No, all that matters is the fact that I am nothing more than a tramp that thinks every man loves a woman the same.

How could I have been so foolish and blind? Everything about how it was happening was wrong.

Halen would never whisper to me that I'm his bitch or his whore or that he owns me while we're in bed together; it's not the type of man he is. Nor would he have been so rough or possessive to the point I thought I would bruise.

No, no, no, all of the signs were there in plain view.

So why didn't I see them?

Deep down I know the answer; it's because whores don't care who they share their bed with as long as they are satisfied.

I think of my Halen and another round of hot, prickly tears begin to well up in my eyes. My poor, poor Halen; how can he bare to even look at me, much less stay with me? I can barely see my own reflection in the mirror without being overwhelmed by guilt and shame.

I wonder vaguely if this is how other whores view themselves, or if they have figured out a way to subdue the guilt deep within them. Maybe there's some sort of odd cure out there for people like me.

I don't understand how Halen can stand to be around someone as broken as I am, much less love me. I try to imagine how I'd feel if Halen slept with another woman.

Fury and betrayal shoot through me as I picture walking in and catching Halen in bed with another woman. But what if he had been under mind control like I was? Would I be able to forgive him?

After a few moments I decide that I would be able to. After all he has done for me I could never turn my back on him.

A little voice in the back of my head nags at me that it won't last between us, and after all that I've done Karma will soon enough give me what I deserve.

I close my eyes and try to block out the horrible thoughts, focusing instead on random conspiracy theories. But still, even such sinister things such as the truth behind the meat in Taco Bell or how they really make hotdogs can't distract me for long.

I begin to think of how when I opened my eyes expecting to see Halen's handsome face I saw a guard cracking a sickening grin and giving my chest a wet kiss. At first I was confused before everything began to make sense, particularly when the bastard slid his monster out of me. He could tell I was stunned and began to laugh, mocking me as I struggled to get loose.

I kicked and screamed as I attempted to get loose, threatening to kill him. He merrily laughed and gestured to the straps binding me to the table I was laying on saying I would never get out.

I am proud to say at first I handled the situation rather well as far as not showing weakness goes, threatening that Halen would kill him once he'd find out I was raped. Despite my building humiliation and guilt I had been doing okay until the guard laughed, "It's not rape if you like it, sweetheart, and you obviously did."

That did me in. I began to sob and cry in shame knowing full well I had liked it, and despite not knowing it was an illusion that it still counted as sleeping with another man.

I had cheated on Halen, and I was ashamed. The guard found my tears to be a turn-on, unzipping his pants once more and calling over his colleagues to watch.

They cheered as I begged him to stop, crying that I didn't want to and trying so hard not to let him. But it was a useless battle, and in the end he re-entered me and fuck me once more as his friends cheered him on.

At that point I knew it was definitely rape, but I was still grasping the first time. I had cheated on my Halen; another man had been inside of me.

Horror latched onto me; what type of whore can't even tell her lovers cock apart from another man's? What type of slut can't tell one man's style in the bedroom from another's?

I stare at my defogging mirror and see my reflection once more. I don't know why Halen is with me, but I am more grateful than he will ever know that he is.

I am The Question; I solve the hardest riddles and I answer the toughest questions. But there is one question I cannot seem to answer.

How could I not see that it wasn't Halen?

(Halen's POV)

I look at the punching bag split open on the floor after I'd laid waste to it. The last six hours I had kicked the living shit out the bag in the hopes that some much needed exercise would help me deal with what happened. Instead, I find myself going over everything Victoria had said. She told me of the torture, of the horrible visions and of the… of the… of the rape. _God why her?_ I think as I slam my fist into the wall.

I don't hear the sound of the door opening to the gym or I the slight wince of sympathetic pain as I withdraw my hand and dig a long splinter out of a gash from the top. In truth, I have no idea that anyone is in the same room with me until I felt my hand being taken and inspected. I turn ready to fight when I realize that the person in the gym with me is Rachel Grayson.

"Are you purposely trying to hurt yourself?" She sighs as she examines my hand.

"I would rather it be me." I reply quietly.

I can tell by the way she stiffens that she knows what I am talking about. I take my hand back and feel myself going from Halen to Hunter in mere seconds.

My eyes narrow as I study her. "You're acting like you know something, Rachel."

"I don't know that much really, but I have a pretty good guess about who you're implying."

"What do you know, and don't lie to me!" I snap.

Rachel sighs and takes a seat, motioning for me to do the same. "I take it that Victoria finally opened up to you, right?"

"Yeah, she opened up earlier…" I begin slowly, not wanting to put into words what those bastards had done to her.

"Then you know that she was raped." Rachel continues calmly.

"How the hell do you know?" I demand.

"I know what Bella knows." She responds cryptically.

The fact that Batwoman knew, fuckin' knew about Victoria, makes my blood boil. I should know that she would know though. Batwoman is paranoid beyond belief and she has information on basically everything that happens throughout the world. I look at Rachel and despite being upset about her knowing what was wrong with Victoria and not telling me, I also feel like I need to unload on someone.

"I don't know what to do." I admit as my shoulders slump.

I feel her looking at me and I shake my head. "I really have no idea what to do for Victoria. I mean I've read reports, watched news specials, and everything else about rapes, but when it hits close like this… I just don't know what I can do to help her."

I feel Rachel's arms wrap around me and like I've done for Victoria she tries to calm me down and sooth the rising fear inside of me. She pulls back and waits for me to look at her again.

"This isn't something that you will be able to fix, Halen. Victoria is going to need your love, and your understanding." Rachel Grayson adds softly.

"I just wish that there was more that I could do for her. I wish that I could fix this for her." I whisper, looking towards the wall.

"This isn't the kind of thing that you fix." She explains softly as she touches my hand.

"I know… I just want it to be. But…there is one thing I know that I can do for her." I mutter as I stand up and start to turn around.

"Halen…" Rachel calls before I turn, and even though I don't want to I glare back at her.

"Would you do any less if it was Ben or *Tia?" I shoot back at her.  
>She instantly falls quiet and looks toward the wall. "No."<p>

"I'm not saying what's going to happen because I don't want you to get into this. All I'm going to say is that what has been done will be paid back ten times as much."

As I walk outside I realize how tired I am. It's not the exercise that's getting to me, but instead it's the emotional weight of it all. I love Victoria, and if I can't heal her then I can avenge her. I think of her as I continue to walk; her gorgeous red-orange hair, beautiful turquoise eyes, petite body, full curves, large but not to be breasts, and so very broken spirit.

Each step I take my mind opens the vision opens in my mind's eye. I see the guard as his hands touch my Victoria. I can hear her screams, see and feel her fear. I make myself feel every single humiliation, every violation that Victoria must have felt. I need to, because when I avenge her I want to feel the justification for what has happened.

_*Tia is Tia Drake, this universe's Robin._


	5. Chapter 5

_**(AN: As I stated before there would be at least one chapter not written in either Victoria's or Halen's point of view. This is the chapter. It is written in Rachel Grayson's, Benjamin Gordon, and Bella Wayne – Prince's point of view. Thank you.)**_

_**The Hunter of the Question**_

_**Chapter 5**_

(Rachel Grayson's POW)

My thoughts are not on the razor in my hand or the shaving cream covered leg in front of me. Instead, my thoughts are on Victoria and what Halen said yesterday. I want to reach out and strike him for even considering being so stupid and trying to hunt down Victoria's tormentors, but then again if I had to do that to every single person who was an idiot my hand would have become numb long, long ago. _Ouch, damn it!_ I think as the razorblade slices through my leg lightly. I wipe off the small puddle of blood and try to concentrate on what I'm doing. I finish my legs and stand up to admire myself in the mirror for a moment. I smile at the toned body that greets me back, but then I wonder if I would like myself if what happened to Victoria happened to me.

The thought digs into my mind and I walk to my bedroom in search of a large shirt that belongs to Ben. I find one to my liking and pull it on along with a pair of gym shorts that belong to me. I walk in my comfortable clothes to the living room where I turn on the television and find the Terminator playing on the screen. I don't pay attention to the female lead playing the part of Kylie Reese, or the fairly good-looking man playing the past love interest of Sam Conner. Instead, my mind is Victoria and what she had to of went through. I'm so lost in my thoughts that I don't hear the door open or my visitors until I'm lifted into the air by Kevin Kent. I look at the blond haired and blue eyed Kryptonian as he stares at me for a minute until his eyes land on the glare that I'm giving him. Of everything that Bella taught me, the 'Batglare' is the most useful. Kevin quickly sets me down and steps back behind Tia, who is smiling from ear to ear.

"Guess where Kevin is taking me!" Tia squeals with delight as the smile on her face and the brightness in her eyes intensifies.

"Where?" I ask absently, not really feeling up to getting out of my current funk.

"Planet Hollywood, and guess who's playing!" She continues determined that I'll play the guessing game with her.

"I don't know… N'Sync?" I try being my normal smartass self.

Tia narrows her eyes at me for a minute before she slams the ticket down on the coffee table, revealing to me two front row seats to the Metallica concert.

"N'Sync sucks ass and you know it." Tia says as she studies my face.

"Sorry lil' sis but I just don't feel up to getting all giddy because of a bunch of old rockers." I shrug.

The look on her face quickly starts to drop and I realize that I might have killed the night for the young couple. Thinking quickly I decide to salvage it as best as possible and smile toward her.

"Still, I suppose that I'm jealous that you'll be able to get one of their sweet t-shirts. Wouldn't be interested in bringing one back for me, would you?" I murmur, fishing out three times what the t-shirts will cost.

"Sure, I can do that, thanks." Tia smiles. I look at Kevin, who is still uncertain of how to act.

What is it with Kryptonians and the glare? I swear that it's Kryptonite or something. I think as I study his face for a moment and finally let out a sigh.

I turn to Kevin and give him by best concerned-parent stare, "Kevin, be careful tonight. I want Tia to be in the same shape she's in now."

He nods and then smiles slightly at me before he shuffles his feet.

"For the love of God." I mutter before I wrap my arms around him and hug him.

Happy with the fact that I'm not upset at him he hugs me back and then lets me go. He turns to Tia who kisses him deeply before she leads him out of the apartment. I sigh and turn off the TV. Movies about computers taking over the world and terminating the savior of humanity before she's born are no longer even the slightest bit interesting. Instead, I walk toward the computer and fire it up. In seconds I'm online and I find Ben.

"Hey sexy lady… Ummm… This is Rachel right?" He writes on his instant messenger.

I smile and remove my shirt knowing that he's more than likely going to be busy working instructing the Birds of Prey. I loop one arm under my breasts to ensure that they'll have a little more of a lift, and I know that will certainly get his attention. I take my free hand and give him an answer I know he won't refuse.

"Switch to video conference and find out." I type.

Seconds later the video screen comes up and I see Ben's eyes bug out. Behind him I see Darren Lance AKA Black Condor and I quickly cover myself with my shirt in embarrassment.

Ben sits there for several seconds with his mouth hanging open.

It's finally Darren who speaks up, "Ummm… Thanks, but don't let Olivia know that I saw someone else's other than hers. She's kind of possessive."

"Not a problem… I figured that he would have been talking to you via the COM and not actually having you there." I admit as I blush slightly.

Ben finally finds his voice. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

I can't help but smile at the way he blushes and continues to blush. His eyes are averted from me even though he's seen my breasts a hundred times. Actually, Ben's always been a breast man, or at least he has been since I've been with him. He's loved to touch, fondle and cradle mine every chance he gets. While he asks me this question I quickly slip back into my shirt and think for a minute.

"Has Halen talked to you?" I ask.

"Yeah, actually he contacted me earlier. Said he wanted a code breaker able to handle some serious stuff. I figured that it was for his girlfriend and went ahead and worked it out. I might have passed it off about half an hour ago." Ben replies in slight surprise.

"Shit, it's pretty likely that he's going to use it to get vengeance for Victoria." I swear as I look at Ben.

"Damn, so she finally told him?" Ben sighs.

"Yeah… I can understand how he feels, though." I murmur as I look the handsome redhead in the screen before me.

"I don't know…" Ben trails off.

"If it was me, what would you do?"

"Most likely something stupid." He answers truthfully.

I know that he's being honest and I smile slightly.

(Ben Gordon's POW)

The conversation with Rachel ended pretty soon after she asked what I would do if she was in Victoria's position. I know what I would do, I have no doubts about it; I would do something stupid. I would find every single bastard that touched her and then I would teach them a new meaning of the word pain. I realize in that instant that what I feel is what Halen feels, and unlike myself Halen has come close to murdering before. It was Victoria who stopped him, that saved him from himself.

I think for a minute, my first instinct being to open a channel with Bella and inform her of what might be going to happen, although more than likely she already knows. I dump the thought quickly. If I notify Bella she will stop Halen for certain, and while I'm sure that she will do something to those who raped Victoria, it won't be nearly as bad as they deserve.

Finally I know that despite what I think, I know that if the situation was turned around that I would hope someone would contact Bella for me. That they would take the action needed to save me from becoming what I have fought against for so long. I press the COM and wait for a moment before I hear the dark voice of Bella answering, "What is it, Oracle?"

"Bella, it's Halen! I'm not sure but he might be-"

"Trying to infiltrate CADMUS, get the information on those who raped Victoria, and then attempt to carry out some sort of vengeance on them. The guards have already been dealt with." Bella says over the COM with a voice full of acid. "But the person who set it into motion hasn't been dealt with. I couldn't find enough concrete proof to nail her."

"Who would set something like that in motion?" I frown.

"Who delivered Question to CADMUS in the first place?" Bella shoots back.

"Luthor? Would-Would she really be that evil?" I breathe in disbelief.

"Alexandra Luthor does everything because it serves herself in the end. In this case, I believe she wanted to see what it would take to break a member of the Justice League. I'll contact Nightwing and have her trail Halen." Bella adds before she cuts the communication off.

I look at the computer screen and wonder what other secrets that Alex Luthor might be hiding.

(Bella Wayne-Prince's POV)

I close the communication because of two reasons; one, there is nothing that can be done about it for the moment, and two, I'm currently on a date with my husband. I smirk slightly as I see the other women admire him. I can't help but feel proud, feel pleased that a god among men has decided to love me. But despite the fact that I want Wonder Warrior in the worst of ways, the Bat is crawling up and demanding that I look at this objectively.

I suddenly envision myself in Victoria's situation as I did when I went after the guards that raped her. I see Damien look at me with a questioning glance and I can't help but wonder what he would do if it was me that had been raped. He escorts me to a seat and together we sit down for a moment. "What's wrong?"

"Victoria." I state simply.

He closes his eyes and I can see him shake with a silent rage. The rape is a sad subject anyway, but add to the fact that his father was bound and raped by the female demigod Heracles, it doesn't make it any easier.

"She has not harmed herself, has she?" He asks once he composes his self.

It's something that I love about Damien. There's a sort of innocence about him, a sort of tenderness that the world hasn't corrupted. I shake my head and watch as he breathes normally for a moment.

"No, she finally told Halen and he's going to seek vengeance for her." I reply.

"Bella, I know your rules, the code that you live by, but in this instance wouldn't it be better for Luthor to face some kind of justice?" Damien murmurs.

"Not like that. Luthor deserves to face Justice, but without the proof the law can't touch her, and killing her would make her a martyr instead of showing the world what kind of scum she actually is."

He studies me for a moment, "There's something else bothering you."

"If it was me, If I had been caught, tortured, and raped, what would you have done?" I ask slowly.

"There wouldn't be a hole deep enough for them to hide in." He assures me in an uncharacteristically threatening voice.

I see a fire burning in his eyes as he takes my hand, "If they ever touched you in such a way or ever do touch you in such a way then by Zeus I will be the hand that delivers your vengeance." Damien assures me.

I start to say something, but he shakes his head. "No, Bella. I know your code, your rules, but I would not sit idly by and let them get away with that. I would ensure that they faced justice, true justice, in one form or another." He finishes before kissing me.

I kiss him back and wonder if it was me, would I want to stop him?

*Kevin Kent is this world's Superboy and this world's version of Kara Kent.

*Darren Lance is this world's Black Canary, and this world's version of Dinah Lance.


	6. Chapter 6

_**(AN: Again I want to thank JanaGirl123 for being a wonderful co-Author, and I want to thank The Lady Isis for the use of Damien Prince, Bella Wayne-Prince, Rachel Grayson, Benjamin Gordon, Tia Drake, and Olivia Queen - Lance. I would also like to suggest other reading for those interested. Please check out "Nice Guys Finish Last", "Switched", "A New World", "The Bat, The Cat, and The Amazon" all by Janagirl123 and Check out "Parallels", "Divergence", "My Girl", "Memories to a Stranger" (Located at www. Batman wonder Woman . com under the fanfiction tab) By The Lady Isis. Well with my suggested reading list out of the way… This is returning to Victoria's and Halen's view. This chapter will deal a bit with both of them. Enjoy.)**_

_**The Hunter of the Question  
>Chapter 6<strong>_

(Victoria's POV)

I've always been a worrier; it's funny, really. I've always worried about things, small details, unnoticed connections, and it has served me well in the past, but now…now I feel the creep of worry coming up my spine and I hate it. I hate it so much because Halen is acting much like he had before. Outwardly, he's still the wonderful man I love, the sweet soul that I know him to be, but there is something that is slowly drawing his attention away from me. The way he acts is similar to how he acted while planning on how to kill Stephanie Mandragora.

I study him as he nears me. His hand gently touches me as if I'm fragile; I see his eyes and the way his heart sinks. Gently, I take his hand and squeeze it. Halen's done so much for me, he's been with me, saved me, comforted me; the least I can do is attempt to save him. Somewhere inside a voice, one that has been plaguing me since my escape from CADMUS, tells me that I'll ruin him. I try to ignore it as I look into his eyes and kiss him, "I love you."

His hands move around my waist gently and I feel him pull me close to him. Our lips crush together as he kisses me with a need. Halen's saved me, he's with me, and despite how unworthy I am he seems to love me. I know that I want to do everything I can to please him. His left hand moves gently but swiftly under my shirt as I feel his hand cup my right breast. The material of my bra moves, releasing my breast into his gentle hands. His thumb and forefinger gently rolls my nipple as he breaks the kiss and begins to kiss down my neck.

"Do-Do you want this?" He pants, unsure of himself.

I know he feels uncertain. Ever since I told him about what happened, about the torture, the visions, and the… the rape… Ever since then he's treated me like a fine china doll. Every move is gentle, delicate, as if I might break. Physically I know I won't, but mentally, spiritually… I need our bond, our connection. I need him to touch me in the inexplicable way he does.

"No…" I whisper as I see his face fall. He starts to move, but I stop him, "I need this. I need us."

His face lights up once more as he kisses me once more with enthusiasm. "Good."

Our tongues meet as we kiss again. There is so much passion, so much need, so much desire that I can't begin to explain it all. Between us there is an unsaid need to become whole and I feel the clothes covering me leave my body. Soon his completely perfect form meets my far less than perfect body, as we are now completely bare. I feel his length touch my leg and let out a soft gasp as he guides it into me.

Our lovemaking isn't aerobic, or attempting at power, but rather it's filled with desperation and need, with gentle mapping. The way Halen touches me, the way he runs his hands over my body as if he's memorizing every single inch of me. I feel his lips caress my neck. Gently he nips at me and kisses down until his mouth covers the nipple of my left breast. I feel the wonderful sensation of his tongue swirling, his teeth gently nibbling, and his lips softly yet hungrily covering my nipple and part of my breast. As he does this he pulls out until only about an inch of him is left in me, but the second I feel empty he fills me again.

Soft moans escape my mouth as we make love. My hands run through his dark hair and down to his well-toned back. "Halen… Halen I love you…" I gasp between moans.

He pulls back from my breasts and looks into my eyes. He continues to gaze into me as he fills me again and another soft moan escapes me. His hands that had been running down my sides suddenly move around my back as I'm pulled up against him. I continue to rub his back, holding him, and I feel tears leaving my eyes; this time these tears are of joy. I feel so loved by Halen, so wonderfully loved that I can't even begin to put how I feel into words.

"Victoria, you are my *tesoro, my *Bella Tesora." He coos softly.

"You're my treasure too." I whisper back, clutching his back. "I couldn't live without you, Halen. I wouldn't want to."

Our momentary pause is just that. I feel him start again and once more I am lost to the pleasure of his touch, the burning desire to feel him, to have him fill me, to be a part of him on a level that no one can separate. After another hour of love making we are both satisfied, and I feel Halen lay behind me as we spoon. His hand moves down my too skinny stomach and stops to make small circles around my navel. I feel his lips press against the back of my head as he kisses my hair.

"Victoria, I won't leave you, I couldn't leave you. I love you too much." He assures me.

Tears roll down my eyes. I normally feel guilty, humiliated, and worthless, but in his arms I feel loved and worthwhile. My entire being is a complete contradiction, but I don't want the positive parts of the contradiction to end. All I want is for us to love each other and stay together. I turn to face him and kiss his neck. He moans as I work my way down him. My hands find his member and gently I stroke him. I feel him harden in my hand as my mouth works its way down his toned chest. I stop to lick the sweat from his abs for a moment before I kiss lower and lower until my lips touch the head of his cock.

I feel him moan as I take him in. Before CADMUS I barely did this, I felt it degrading and unclean; like something a whore would do. I am already a whore now, but I still want to do this for him. I want to make him happy and give him all of me. His hands move to the top of my head while I hear his moans. He gasps my name in a breathy whisper before he explodes. I pull back and look at the man I love, moving up beside him as he kisses me again.

"I love you, Halen." I mumble.

(Halen's POV)

I look at my Victoria, my Bella Tesora, and I smile softly. Each touch, each movement in our lovemaking was an attempt at making her whole. I want to heal her and I want her to herself again, but I know that Victoria as I knew her isn't here for the moment. She is still there, but she is wounded, and I want- no I need- to heal her. I need to give Victoria everything she needs. I hear the softness of her breath and the slight snore she has as she sleeps. My hand touches her ribs and I feel worry creep up me. I move slightly before her hand grasps my own. I know that she is asleep, but I also know that even sleeping she needs me here.

_They will pay for what they did to you._I think with resolve as I study her sleeping form.

I move and after a few moments rise from the bed. As much as I need to say with Victoria, the need to avenge her is greater. I leave our bed and find my way to her 'conspiracy' room. I look at the notes, newspaper articles, hand-written addresses, and finally I find the address of a business that Q had been certain of it being a front for CADMUS.

I quickly dress as the Hunter and leave our small apartment. Quietly, I move through the night as I near the high rise that contains the information I need. I move quietly as I enter the building and follow Q's hand written directions perfectly. Once inside I find rows after rows of computers, but my eyespots one that doesn't seem to belong. I move toward it and open the CD tray. Once it opens I drop the code breaker software that Ben created for me into it and close it.

The computer springs to life and within seconds it is unlocked. I look up the interrogation of Question and see for myself what happened.

I watch as my Victoria becomes disoriented. I see her looking at the guard who touches her face and grins wickedly.

"Mmm, I love you, Halen." She murmurs in her trance, completely convinced that it is me touching her during all of this.

"I want you now." The guard growls as he rips open her shirt revealing her toned stomach and perfect sized breasts concealed by nothing but a flimsy bra.

Victoria grunts something I cannot make out and bucks her hips lightly, coaxing me inside of her.

The guard's fingers make quick work of her belt before he rips down her pants and yanks off her panties while I watch as he enters her violently.

"Ouch! Halen, be a little softer." She winces.

The guard laughs and thrusts into her even harder. I watch as this-this animal violates my teroso. He roughly handles her, calling her his whore, his bitch. Another guard touches the dial of the machine and I watch as she is injected with something. She cries out and then begs for the guard to go even harder. She tells the guard that she loves me, that she loves it when I make love to her like this. I turn my head not because another man is inside of her, but because I can't stand to see her harmed like this. I hear a gasp and I turn back to see her looking at him.

Even with the mask on I know what she looks like. Her eyes are wide with horror, her mouth forming a perfect 'O', and she suddenly feels the need to be sick. I touch the screen as she swears she'll kill him, promising that I will find him and end his life. I stop the video and obtain the names of the guards. As I do this I find that all of them, every last one that had been in on the abuse of my teroso, is now in a maximum-security federal prison. I read what they entered as and I smile slightly. Each one had been listed as a rapist and child killer.

I know that child killers and rapists usually find themselves dead in site of a year in a federal prison. I then dig deeper and realize that Q's interrogation, her torture, and everything else done to her was not signed off by Waller, but instead it was done by Luthor. My hands clench in rage as I realize that Alexandra Luthor caused this to happen to my Victoria. I save every bit of this information because I plan to show it to Luthor before I kill her. I want her to see what she caused and realize that her death is coming because of the horror she inflicted upon my Victoria.

I want Luthor to see the true horror she has caused us and beg for the tape to be stopped. I will then spare her the rest of the footage, only to begin to reveal how broken my poor Q is. How she can't eat or sleep, how she thinks she is a whore, a slut, how we will never be the same because of it.

I want Luthor to see the true evil she has done and feel remorse.

If she doesn't, then God himself will not be able to save her from my wrath.

*Teroso is Italian for Treasure

*Bella Terosa is Italian for Beautiful Treasure.


	7. Chapter 7

_**(AN: Again a big thanks to JanaGirl123 for being a co author. Also another big thanks to the Lady Isis for her use of Rachel Grayson, Benjamin Gordon, Tia Drake, Bella Wayne – Prince, Damien Prince, and Clara Kent.)**_

_**The Hunter of the Question**_

_**Chapter 7**_

(Halen's POV)

It never ceases to amaze me how stupid a smart person can be. Tracking down Alexandra Luthor was beyond easy; like taking candy from an exceptionally rich baby. It was really only a matter of calling Alex's assistant and talking to her for a few minutes. I had to flirt a little to find out what I wanted, but in the end 'Roxie' had given me everything I needed. She told me that Alex would be in her corporate office for the rest of the day and all of tomorrow. Apparently, she was having her second in command, a tall attractive blond man named Percy, going to her meeting for her. I thanked Roxie and then pretended to inquire about a job at Luthor Corp as a company instructor.

Did I have any actual intention of really becoming a company instructor? No. But Q had taught me that covering your tracks was essential if you didn't want 'them' to see you.

I race towards Metropolis on my motorcycle as fast as it can go, thinking, I don't want her to see me. I don't want her to see me coming until I'm already there.

The moment I enter the 'city of the future' I head down toward where Luthor tower should be standing. I look at the tower and around the base I can see six guards per door. Each of them are carrying standard issue weapons, but I would more than bet that any guards on the inside are carrying weapons able to bring down Superwoman if she gave them half a chance. My hands clench into fists as I study the building.

Superwoman has had chance after chance to be rid of Luthor. The world wouldn't miss the sadistic ** very much, but then if what Q said could happen… We need a Lord Superwoman less than we need an Alex Luthor. Although depending on what happened here, the world might receive a little bit of a gift in that Alex Luthor might breathe her final breath.

I look at the surrounding buildings and realize all of them are businesses, and none of them seem too friendly toward anyone walking in off of the street. I grumble slightly until I look three buildings down and see an indoor parking garage. It stands roughly the same height as the building next to it, and the distance between the two is something that I've jumped with my motorcycle before. Grinning in satisfaction, I race down toward the parking garage until finally I'm at the roof level.

My eyes travel all over the garage in search of something to use until they land toward the end of the parking garage and I see a slightly slanted rain shield for what appears to be a backup generator. I rev the engine for a moment and then pop the clutch. The back tire squeals as it catches and the motorcycle is rocketed forward. I lean forward and gun the motorcycle as far as it will go. Lifting myself up and pulling back I hit the rain shield and feel the motorcycle go from the top of the parking garage to the top of the next high rise.

"WHAT THE HELL?" A confused janitor shouts as I race past him and jump across to the next building.

I hear the loose gravel like roof under my tires as I near the edge of this building and make the next jump before I land on the roof directly across from Luthor tower. The motorcycle idles as I look at the distance between the two. I could make the jump, maybe, but I'm not sure if that is what I want. Instead I look at my cross bow and then I fish through my collection of darts. Moments later I find what I'm looking for. The rope I dig out seems like it could be long enough possibly, but then Luthor's building doesn't look old enough for a dart to easily sink into the side of it.

I look at the time and realize that it's already been twenty-four hours since I was with my Victoria. Slight guilt nags at me as I picture her alone and anxiously waiting by the door for me, twirling her scarlet hair with a finger and debating what to cook for dinner. Should I be here instead of by her side? I know that she's still hurting and in the need for me to be by her side, but the urge to make her tormentors pay is far to great to put off for any amount of time.

Besides, the best time to hit Luthor would be now. Her guards are on the ground floor so no one would be near her, and she would be at my mercy. I study the distance between the two buildings one more time before racing the motorcycle towards the opposite end of the building. Revving the engine up, I once again pop the clutch and race toward the other end. I feel the motorcycle fly across the gap between them.

As I momentarily hang in mid-air, I can't help but think; Victoria, my Bella Terosa I love you.

The motorcycle arches down and I feel the front tire hit the roof. The entire motorcycle almost lands on it, but the rear tire barely misses. I rev the engine and hear the tire squeal as it spins against the polished stone the back wheel touches, praying to God this works. Luckily, it catches and the motorcycle climbs up on the roof. I cut it off and prop it up, rising off the bike and walking towards the roof access before beginning to pick the lock.

It is minutes (thought at the time it seemed to take hours) before the lock gives and I enter into the building. I know this section is barely used, meaning that it's the best way to get into the building undetected. I walk slowly and stick to the shadows, hearing tow men laughing outside of the hall. I peer out cautiously and see two guards before I creep up behind them and thrust my hand forward toward the one on the right.

My hand finds his shoulder and the strike breaks it. The man screams as his friend turns toward me. I hit the other guard hard in the solar plexus, feeling it crush beneath my palm. He falls forward silently, unable to breathe. I hit him again on the back of the head rendering, him unconscious. The other guard wails about his shoulder as I place a foot against it, causing the now broken and dislocated bones to move even more.

"Where is Luthor's office?" I demand, short on patience.

He pleads with me, telling me that he has a family, kids, and a wife who he loves more than anything. I understand his worry. I have my teroso at home who I love more than anything, and if we were to reproduce our children would be my world, but I show no sympathy. I simply press harder and glare at him.

"Where is Luthor's office!"

"Christ! Down the hall on the right!" He gasps, beginning to panic more and more.

I leave him before giving him a quick strike on a pressure point, causing him to go unconscious like his friend. I walk down the hall and listen for more voices. Once I'm sure that no one else is around on this floor, I open the door and look at Alexandra Luthor as she stands with her back to me. Her natural mocha hair is tied back in tight pony tail as she arranges objects on her desk.

"Percy, are you back already?" She questions as she turns and sees me standing there. Her eyes widen before quickly narrowing as she resumes her calm facade. "Oh, another one of you."

"Do you know why I'm here?" I ask quietly, cocking my crossbow.

"Not really." She murmurs off-handedly, shifting through a stack of papers.

"You had her tortured, had her subjected to vivid hallucinations, and then you had her raped you bitch." I snarl, spitting the words at her.

A chilling smile crosses her face as she looks at me, a fake smirk of confusion plastered on her make-up coated face. "You'll have to be more specific…I've had that done to a lot of people."

Something inside of me snaps as she tells me this. There is a white burning sensation inside of me, shooting through my veins and taking over my body. She's had more people tortured, raped, put through what Victoria went through. Alexandra doesn't care what she put my Victoria through, instead of guilt there is…nothing. She doesn't care… I feel the rage build and I let it engulf me as I take a step towards her.

"You shouldn't have said that."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(Victoria's POV)

I stand alone in the small kitchen I share with Halen, waiting for him to return.

I utterly despise waiting, how boring and worrisome it is. But I am if nothing else a patient woman, so I stand here in silence looking forward to Halen coming home, occasionally sneaking peeks out of the window.

I'm worried he's gone and done something stupid in my name. Men tend to do that, acting almost as if we woman can't do it ourselves. Although to be honest I truthfully have no desire to ever see the monster that tricked me ever again, even if it's with my hands around his neck.

Suspicion is beginning to prickle down my neck, and no matter how much I don't want to I can't help but worry about my Halen. The clock tells me it's been 24 hours since we've been together, and I'm missing him more than I'd like to admit.

"Oh, Halen." I murmur into the emptiness of the small kitchen. "What in the world are you doing?"

I need to keep my mind busy. There are thoughts, thousands of thoughts, running through my mind as to what Halen might be doing. The fact that I know that men have done stupid things in the names of their beloved wives and girlfriends doesn't help me at the moment.

I settle myself down on the floor and attempt to meditate, closing my eyes and attempting to find peace. Renee Dragon was right when she told me I wouldn't be able to find peace until I opened up to Halen, and after our talk I have to admit I do feel as though a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

But inner-peace can do little to ease my worried mind as I think about my Halen. While it's only been a day since I've seen him my worry only increases how badly I miss him. I crack open my eyes as they fall onto the bed we've made so much love in so many times.

I bite my lip as I think of those times, thoughts of Halen on top of me or me on top of him as we explore each other's bodies. I love the way Halen fills me, how completely full I feel as he plunges deep within me.

Trying to avoid thoughts that will only increase my loneliness, I walk into my 'conspiracy' room, as Halen calls it, and sit down in front of my laptop. I crack my knuckles and begin to type away, searching for the link between Teddy bears and rubber duckies as a distraction.

After an hour of pointless research I conclude this search is going nowhere and decide to focus my attention on NeuGen and their connections with CADMUS. I pick up my file for them and begin to absently flip through it.

The first thing I notice is the missing slip of paper for 'NeuGen'. I know that the business is a front for CADMUS, and an agent of Luthor. I walk back over towards where the file was and let my mind venture back. I know that the 'red' computer holds the key to every secret that CADMUS has, but Halen couldn't possibly get on it.

Well, at least I don't think he could. On the other hand, Halen does things I didn't know were possible on a daily basis, so maybe it's not so far-fetched. I try to think of what Halen could possibly do with that information as it hits me like a ton of bricks.

Halen... No! I think frantically as I head toward the door. I grab my other face, my stronger face, and slip it into my hand. As I fly down the hall I pull on my trench coat and yank the can of aerosol out of my pocket, latching the mask on to my face until I eventually come to a stop on the rooftop.

I stand as the Question and I know what I have to do.

"Nightwing, come in." I say over the COM.

"Question?" Rachel Grayson asked in surprise.

I ignore her question and ask one of mine instead, "Where is Hunter?"

"Um..." She begins slowly. "I don't think I should tell you."

"Tell me, please!" I beg.

"I don't think Batwoman would like that very much."

My fists shake in anger, "Tell me, dammit! You're not an eleven year-old anymore, just do what you think you should do!"

Silence, then came her reluctant reply of, "I lost track of him near Metropolis."

I hang up the phone without bothering to say goodbye.

I don't waste time; my mind knows what he's planning on doing. Halen isn't a cold-blooded killer, what he does is out of passion, so anything he does to Luthor will be an act of rebuttal for hurting me, his beloved. He will beat Luthor beyond recognition in retaliation for harming me because he believes it's what's right.

A part of me agrees with him.

I contact the watchtower and have Vigilante teleport me to Luthor Towers. I know it has to be Luthor... it has to be because there is no one else in Metropolis who is openly connected to CADMUS. Even if it's not Luthor I know Hunter will still go after her simply because she's at the top of the chain of evil CADMUS created.

I bolt into the elevator, barley controlling the wild beating of my heart. Oh how I despise this place, how I despise the woman that ordered me to be put through Hell. I ignore my discomfort and dart up the staircase, calling out for Halen.

As I dash through the building I pass bodies slumped over chairs and each other, still breathing but beaten. Every guard I see sprawled out unconscious means the same thing; my Halen was here and I'm following the right path to get to him.

As I approach the office of Alexandra Luthor I hear muffled voices and strain to listen to what they are saying.

"Stop, please! I'll pay you whatever you want!" A shiver travels down my spine as I recognize the voice of Alexandra Luthor.

"You think I want money?" Halen, my Halen's in there! "I don't want your money, bitch."

I waste no more time waiting around and burst in the room only to find my Halen standing over the beaten form of Alexandra Luthor. Judging by the limp body the woman has finally passed out. Her face is mangled and I see the awkward way her arm hangs, knowing that Halen has broken it like a twig. I walk toward him, but he doesn't seem to recognize me.

"Hunter..." I murmur, walking up behind him.

"Victoria, you-you weren't supposed to see this."

I ignore the fact that he used my real name, "Halen, please, don't do this."

"I know what she had done to you." He grits out, his teeth bared in a feral snarl.

"Don't do this." I whisper as I near him.

"She had those bastards touch you." He continues as his hand goes from simply holding Alex Luthor up by her neck to choking the life out of her.

I move close to Halen, as close as I can, "Halen, please..."

Something inside of him clicks as he is snapped out of his trance. I watch his hand release Luthor as he looks at me, his chocolate eyes tearing as he walks out. "Come on, babe, we're leaving."

I follow him obediently and reach out to touch his hand. We walk up to the roof near his motorcycle, holding hands as we see Nightwing standing and looking at us. "Thank you for the help." I say quietly, squeezing Halen's hand a little tighter.

"No problem. Batwoman told me to have you two teleported out of here. Personally, I hope that you ** the ** up." She spits out, making Halen's lips twitch into a small smile. "I did."

Seconds later, we find ourselves standing in Blüdhaven.


	8. Chapter 8

_**(AN: Again a big thanks to JanaGirl123 for being a co author. Also another big thanks to the Lady Isis for her use of Rachel Grayson, Benjamin Gordon, Tia Drake, Bella Wayne – Prince, Damien Prince, and Clara Kent.)**_

_**The Hunter of the Question  
>Chapter 8<strong>_

(Victoria's POV)

After talking to Rachel and thanking her, Halen and I travel back towards our home. I feel Halen's arms wrap around me as we enter our apartment in Gotham, his hands gently moving under my shirt and across my stomach as he holds me tightly. I lean against him and feel him breathing deeply, but at the same time I feel him shake.

"Halen…?" I murmur softly.

"She said things to me." Halen begins quietly, his voice flooded with emotion. "Told me that you weren't the first she had this done to. She laughed as I neared her, even though I was telling her at that moment what I planned to do to her. I had no question in my mind that I was going to kill her for you." Halen speaks softly as he holds me. "All of that and I still let her live, I was going to end her life so easily-"

"And I stopped you." I cut in smoothly. "We have to do this different, Halen. I know I'm a well-known crackpot, but if we bring this conspiracy to light, if we show that she was in on this from the beginning, it will be the beginning of the end of Alexandra Luthor and her empire." I explain, my voice holding far more bravery than the rest of me.

I watch his face contort into different expressions as he tries to make sense of what I said. "I suppose."

My head nods slowly as I gently walk up to him and take his hand in my own, gesturing for me to follow him. "Come on."

He walks with me toward the bathroom as he strips off his uniform, more and more of his body becoming exposed. I study him with my eyes, wanting it to be my hands instead as he shrugs off the last of his clothing. I take in his deep tan, heavily toned and muscular chest, torso, and arms before allowing my eyes to drift towards the impressive organ dangling between his legs, musing that what they say about Italians is true.

He turns on the water to the shower and steps in as I feel his hand rest on mine before he slowly begins to undress me. I shiver at the sudden exposure on my skin as our clothes meet each other on the floor. Leaning against his back, my arms wrap around his muscular frame as we enter the shower. Gently, I kiss his spine almost pleadingly until he turns and our mouths mash together in the most delightful way. I feel his tongue enter my own mouth and I do not refuse it or him. He backs up for a moment and I see the blood left from his beating of Alexandra slowly disappear from his hands.

"Feels good to wash it off." Halen admits quietly, rubbing his hands together.

I open my mouth to praise him for fighting of the urge to slay Luthor, but instead I feel him prompting me to turn around while I feel his member pressing against my sex until he's facing me from behind. Gently, softly, and with all tenderness that shouldn't be in a single person, he begins to enter me. I vaguely wonder why Halen is so fond of this position and the primal feeling of it when the wondrous and glorious feeling of him filling me in a way that only he can overtakes me. My mind slowly begins to lose itself to the intense and fantastic pleasure he gives me as I feel his hands move up my stomach and finally come to rest on my breasts.

"Halen… Oh, God, Halen…" I moan as I feel the orgasmic pleasure wash over me. Even if I wanted to I couldn't stop it between Halen's amazing hands and the way he thrusts into me.

Suddenly, the voice in my mind that never seems to come when I want it begins to speak to me. They'll hunt him down. It whispers in my ear as I try to ignore it. Instead, I focus on the feeling of Halen sliding another two inches into me as I am completely filled.

They'll hunt him down and throw him into prison for the rest of his natural life. Even if you saved him from killing me, you'll still lose him. The voice persists as I begin to realize there's something off about it. It's different…clearer.

Cautiously, I try to think of something other than Halen's fabulous hands as I look up to see Alexandra Luthor's cold eyes looking at me. Horror and mortification at someone who hurt me so bad seeing me during such an intimate time shoots through me as I see her standing outside of the shower while she watches us make love.

I screw my eyes shut before opening them tentatively, praying to God this is all some horrible hallucination. Fear begins to creep up my spine when they re-open and Luthor is still there, watching us with a Cheshire cat grin.

My, my how good he looks undressed. No wonder you put up with his mouth and violence, anything going into a woman that big would be absolutely addicting. Alexandra taunts as she crosses her arms and stares at us. I try to cover myself with my arms to hide my disgusting body, but instead Halen takes it as a sign of me wanting to be touched there.

"Poor clueless Victoria… Did you really think that your mind was cut off from me? I'm Alexandra fucking Luthor! Anything I want I simply point to and it's mine. If I say the sun is red then all of those I employ do their damnest to ensure that it is red, and if I tell CADMUS to implant a special device into your head…." She trails off as a chilling smile crosses her face. "Well, you get the picture."

"G-Go away." I whimper, turning around and grabbing Halen as though he can protect me. My fingers latch onto his chest hair as I press against him as tightly as possible, trying to allow his thrusts and love to give me strength.

I close my eyes and feel the fear shake through me as the image of Alexandra Luthor witnessing our mating dance slowly fades into nothingness. As I tremble all over like a beaten puppy I know that Halen can feel my fear because he has stopped his wonderful love making and instead is holding me gently, rocking me as we now sit in the tub.

"Victoria, what's wrong?" He murmurs, stroking my scarlet hair soothingly and tightening his protective grip on my far too skinny body. "Was that to much, baby? I told you to tell me when you weren't up for it."

"N-No, it's not that." I whimper, my voice shaking. "Halen, she's-she's here… She's in my head. I know it sounds crazy, hell I probably am crazy, but she's there!"

"Who's in your head?" Halen asks cautiously.

"Alexandra Luthor… She was just right there, watching us." I continue, pointing toward an empty corner of our bathroom. "She told me she had something put in my head… Something is there and it's making me hear her, see her. She's the voice that has been taunting me."

"Victoria, sweetheart, I don't think-"

"I'm not crazy, dammit! I just saw her standing there; she even talked to me! She told me what she did to my head, how she put this damn chip in it so I'd hear her and see her. You wanted to know why I've been so down lately; try having a voice in your head constantly reminding you how unfaithful you were, how big of a whore you are, how you don't deserve love, how worthless you are, and how-" A sob escapes my throat, cutting me off from my rant.

Through tear-filled eyes I look up expecting to see him look at me questioningly, but instead his hand instantly grabs a COM and he presses the small device against his ear and waits for a moment.

"Oracle, I need to speak to you and Batwoman as soon as possible." He demands as he cradles me like a child. "I'm done playing these games."


	9. Chapter 9

_**(AN: Again a big thanks to JanaGirl123 for being a co-author. Also another big thanks to the Lady Isis for her use of Rachel Grayson, Benjamin Gordon, Tia Drake, Bella Wayne – Prince, Damien Prince, Clara Kent, and Winifred Pennyworth.)**_

_**The Hunter of the Question**_

_**Chapter 9**_

(Halen's POV)

I know that Victoria is questioning why I do not doubt her right at this moment as we stand on top of Capri Green's apartments here in the narrows. I know that inside she is aware how crazy what she said sounds, and to be honest there is a small part of myself that is thinking the same thing. Still, there's nothing else to do other than be with her and trust in her. Besides, from what I heard about CADMUS from Q coupled with what I've gleamed from Rachel when she told me what Batwoman told her, I know that they have the technology to pull something like this off.

I turn as I hear the sound of a grapple and see a dark figure walking forward, the shadow of a bat showing on the building next to ours. The Batwoman walks past me without saying a word, not that that's a huge shock, and goes directly to Victoria. I watch her look at my Q before she turns to the stupid micro PDA she carries. For a moment she is silent before she backs up and looks at us both, staring at us from behind her cowl.

"Question has gained a mole since her last teleportation to the Watchtower." Batwoman states, between her toneless voice and the statement she just left hanging in mid-air I can feel my dislike of this woman reaching new heights.

"Wait, how the hell can you tell that?" I ask in surprise.

"The teleporter does a set of digital images on each person that is teleported. The first is clothed, the second is nude." She glares at me as I glare back at her, "Grow up, there is a need for it. We don't know if anyone has become compromised before they're teleported up. Grodd could get her hands on any one of us and force us to teleport up with a hidden bomb under our clothes and destroy it once we're stabilized inside of the Watchtower."

"It's a logical step in defense, Hunter." Question chimes in with her all too logical voice carrying a soft monotone.

At times like these I do have to wonder if Victoria might be as crazy as they say. How can Miss twenty-locks-on-the-door-doesn't-do-Facebook-and-thinks-everything-is-connected be so damn calm about the League practically having porn with us in it?

"Logical or not it's an invasion of privacy! Who's looking at the pictures?" I demand. I couldn't give less of a crap about how logical it is; there are over a hundred people on the Watch Tower! My mind inwardly cringes at the thought of Flash or Olivia Queen looking at a naked photo of me, or even worse Fire or Zattan drooling over a nude photo of Victoria.

"No one except for the founding members are allowed to access the digital images." Batwoman explains with a tight frown. "The teleporters themselves look for extra weight, bulk, and a hundred other signs of one of us being compromised. Now, back to the original topic; Victoria, you claim Luthor put a chip in you that's making you think dark thoughts and see her?"

"It's true." Victoria whispers, her fists clenching.

"What are we going to do for her?" I ask, trying to solve the main problem.

"Victoria and I are going to the watchtower to see how bad this is." Batwoman states. "You will wait here and keep watching the city."

"Like hell you are! I'm going with you whether you like it or not!" I growl, reaching for my crossbow. "Just because you kicked me out of your little club doesn't mean-"

"Agh!" I see my Victoria shriek as she drops to her knees. She screams in pain as something unseen attacks her. I watch in horror her strip her trench coat off and see the massive bruises forming on her arms. I grab her and pull her tight against me as she continues to sob in pain.

"She won't stop... Please... Make her stop..." Victoria begs before she passes out, collapsing into my arms.

(Bella's POV)

When I see Victoria scream and beg Halen to help her while an invisible attacker who has access to her in ways that I can only speculate on beats her, it hurts. It hurts me in a way that I can't even begin to express. The times that I've heard Damien plead for me to help him when he suffered an attack from one of the magical enemies that we've faced, the times that I've held him in the night as he fought off the effects of a virus meant to bring down metas, and most recently after he was brought back from the Meta Brawl after being under mind control for so long surface as I struggle to keep up the cool facade of the Bat. I know that Damien never suffered the same fate as his brothers, or as his own father, but the mind control was the closest thing he has ever experienced to feeling so helpless, so vulnerable. I do the only thing that I know I can do; I call Damien and tell him to teleport us straight to the cave.

The moment we reach the cave Victoria is groaning and screaming in her state of unconsciousness. Damien runs forward to see if he can help, only to get a threatening glare from Hunter. I consider telling Halen to back off, but I can understand what he is going through. If it was Damien I would be damned if someone else touched him. I watch as Hunter lays Victoria on the hospital bed that Winifred had already prepped and readied. I send Damien a questioning glance, asking a silent question.

"Winifred said that she believed it would be in her best interest to get the bed ready." Damien replies as he watches Hunter fuss over Victoria.

"What can we do?" Hunter murmurs as he turns to me.

"I'm going to use one of Hatter's mind control cards to alter her brainwaves for the time being." I explain as I walk toward the vault, bracing myself for Halen's outburst.

"Wait... You're going to do what to her! Don't you already understand what she's been through? " Hunter exclaims hotly, his fists clenching.

"I know exactly what she's been through, and I know that the only way to stop whatever it is hurting her is to render it useless. If it's altering her mind, then it has to be set to her brainwave pattern, so it's either alter her brainwaves or let her suffer." I scowl, I staring him down.

I watch him glance at his love, his face contorting as he struggles with a decision. "…Do it." He mutters, still staring at her. "But I swear if you hurt her-"

Damien lays a hand on his shoulder, cutting him off the Italian man from finishing his threat. "We won't, Hunter. You have my word."

(Damien's POV)

I watch Bella and I see the pain Halen is going through. It hurts me more than I can ever hope to express as Halen watches his love scream in pain. I know that I would be by Bella if it was her, but my mind wouldn't be here. My mind would be focusing on what I would do to those responsible. As I watch Halen I can see that he's torn; he wants to avenge his love, but at the same time he wants to respect her wishes. Although Bella would give me another one of her Batglares if I said it out loud there is no denying how much alike she and Question are. Both of them refuse to kill. They refuse to take the step into the darkness that would swallow them whole, and it's that refusal that has kept us from doing the same. Halen and myself have been saved time and time again from ourselves by our respected loves.

"Bella, do you need the halo?" I ask as I lift the control device from underneath Jana Tech's AKA the Mad Hatter's top hat in the display.

"Not at the moment." She replies off-handily.

I see the brief look of compassion in her eyes and I know that my Bella is feeling this herself. Most don't understand how passionate she is. They don't know that under the aloof, cold exterior she's a loving and caring woman who needs to be loved. I look toward Halen and see him wringing his hands, anxiously casting glances at his girlfriend. I walk toward him and Bella nods, probably knowing what I plan on doing, but then of course she does; she's the Batwoman.

"Hunter, can you come with me?" I ask him quietly.

He steps away slowly, bending down and placing a quick kiss on Victoria's cheek before he comes to me. I watch as his face as he tries to hide how worried he is, his fists balling until drops of blood begin to fall from the groves between his fingers.

"You will have the chance Halen." I say lowly, trying to console him.

"How? How can she not want that bitch to die? How can she go through all of this and not want Luthor to suffer?" He asks in a panicked voice, confusion and torment written all over his face.

"Because she doesn't want to lose you to the abyss." I reply quietly. "She's strong, Halen, and she's being strong for and because of you."

The grandfather clock opens and I look to see Winifred walking down carrying two cups in her gloved hands. The smell of hot chocolate and my normal warm mocha floats around my nose as she nears us.

"I believed that we had guests. Master Damien, I have contacted Master Gordon; he is on his way with Miss Grayson. I believe they shall be here shortly." Winifred says as she leaves the two cups and makes her trip back up the stairs.

"Contact Superwoman and tell her that I need her X-Ray vision." My Bella says, turning her attention back to the situation at hand.

I contact Clara and a moment later the exhausted Kryptonian answers wearily, "What is it, Damien? Tell Bella that for once I'm too busy." Clara yawns.

"We need you at the cave in five minutes." Bella snaps before I exchange a few pleasantries with Clara.

To her credit, Clara appears in the cave five minutes later. She walks toward us and looks at Victoria, her eyes widening at the other woman's shrieks. "What's going on? I'm having some serious issues in Metropolis; everyone seems to think that I attempted to kill Alexandra Luthor."

"For what she did she's lucky it's just attempted." Halen spits out, moving to stand over Victoria protectively.

"You! What the hell did you do? " Clara exclaims, her barely-there temper flaring. "After all I did for you and your crazy girlfriend one would think-"

That's enough!" I growl, staring down both my wife and our friend.

"Luthor had Question more than tortured, Superwoman. She had her beaten, her mind altered, and then ordered a guard to rape her. It also appears that she had a microchip implanted at the back of Question's neck, and that microchip is accessing her mind right now. So tell me how deep it goes and how bad it is." Bella orders to the startled Kryptonian.

"What are you talking about? I know Alex is bad but she would never-"

"Do you see her?" Halen shouts, pointing towards Victoria lying unconscious on the table, her body trembling as she whimpers in agony. "Luthor did this to her, you were there so you know it's true. So how about you stop bitching and help us already!"

Clara looks guiltily at the floor, no doubt thinking how her parents would feel about this. "Fine, what do you need me to do?"


	10. Chapter 10

_**The Hunter of the Question**_

_**Chapter 10**_

(Clara Kent's POV)

The moment I was called to the Batcave I knew something was wrong. Bella and I have been friends for a long time; the absolute truth is I believe that we are best friends. But Bella isn't the kind of person who willingly allows anyone with abnormal powers into her city, Damien being the exception of course. In a nutshell, I had no idea that the reason I was called over here was so bad. Now I look at a the empty shell of a once strong woman who has been tortured, abused, and used in so many ways that I feel myself tremble in rage. I completely understand why Halen did what he did, and I seriously consider apologizing for shouting at him. I wonder if Alex did this to Louis or ordered it to be done to him how would I react? I don't quite know if I could have shown the kind of with-strain that Halen is showing.

"What do you see, Superwoman?" Bella inquirers as she stands to my right.

I squint my eyes and use my X-ray vision to view Question internally. "A chip is located on the back of her neck. It doesn't look to be exactly connected, but it is broadcasting at an odd frequency. Almost reminds me of the frequency that Roulette used when he captured some of the leaguers for his Meta-brawl."

"Wait, if that's the case then why don't we just destroy the chip?" Halen frowns, looking at us in confusion.

"Because we don't know exactly what it will do." Bella explains, looking over a handful of papers in her hands. "It might free her or it might send her into a catatonic state."

"The bitch is torturing her right now through that damned thing and you don't want to remove it?" Halen exclaims as he looks at Bella in disbelief, glaring at her.

"I didn't say that I don't want it removed, Hunter. I said that removing it without knowing what will happen would be a stupid idea." Bella rebuts as she spots two people climbing down the stairs and entering the cave.

"Oracle, get on the computer and get into Alex Luthor's private server immediately. Find any files that deals with the meta-brawl or with CADMUS and Question. Nightwing, be prepared to be transported to LuthorCorp and get any hard copy we need. Where is Robin?" Bella snaps as her hands fly to her hips.

"Miss Tia is upstairs with Master Kevin Kent. I've asked them to leave the door open." Winifred replies as she climbs down the stairs.

Bella looked behind Winifred to see Dr. Liam Thompkins walking down the stairs. "Forgive me Mrs. Bella, but I believed that with what was happening it would be in the best interest to call Dr. Thompkins." Winifred opines as she watches the elder doctor walk towards Victoria. He quickly turns to Bella who instantly begins telling him what had happened and what was going on.

"Then the current worries aren't unfounded. I agree that removing the thing before we know what it is could be dangerous, but we can't be wasting time. So either get the information now or let me prep her for removing it." Liam says matter-of-factly.

"Doc, not that I mean anything, but if that thing is broadcasting to her head could it be broadcasting somewhere else?" I ask thus allowing myself to be known once again.

"If I may Doctor Superwoman, that thing has a short wave transmitter. I believe back in CADMUS it was transmitting what it could rip out of her, but she managed to fight it then like she is now." Benjamin Gordon answers smoothly as he pulls up the specs from the computer.

I turn to study them for a moment and inwardly thank God that I didn't go into robotics, electronics, or computers instead of reporting. Am I smart? Of course, but I'm not great with circuitry or understanding how programming works. "Alright, so if it's not transmitting anymore, then what is it doing?"

"It's running its program. The program was written by Luthor herself and was designed to destroy all hope. It seems that moments of euphoria seem to be what causes it to be blocked out. So..." Benjamin Gordon trails off awkwardly, looking at Halen who is busy standing near his Victoria protectively. "Well, at least he was using his dick for good for once."

"Language." I correct absently, thinking of how appalled Ma Kent would be at Ben's language.

"What does it say about the removal?" Bella asks.

"Obviously they didn't plan on removing it. From what I can gather they planned on breaking her and then killing her; the only mention of removal was from Professor Ana Ivo. She stated that the removal of the device would cause no long term damage, in theory." Benjamin added.

(Halen's POV)

They keep talking about what to do instead of helping her. I watch her wince in pain for the umpteenth time and it's all I can do to keep from picking her up and running out of the cave with her in my arms, carrying her to safety. I start to notice that she seems more peaceful for the moment and that in itself is a balm to my frayed nerves. I look toward Dr. Thompkins who moves forward and presses a firm but gentle hand on my shoulder.

"She'll be alright son, I won't let anything happen to her on my watch." The elderly doctor promises as he turns her over.

I watch as the old man studies the artificial mole and I wonder how I missed it. How could I miss that black dot on the back of her neck? I've kissed her there over and over not, to mention I've seen it hundreds of times when we've made love, so how did I miss it? I watch as the doctor studies the device while looking at the diagram up on the computer before turning his attention back to the task at hand. He takes a small amount of some kind of funny looking gel and smears it over the chip, rubbing it in like lotion.

For a moment nothing happens, then the chip begins to spark. He holds his hand under it as it falls off as I realize how much of a startling resemblance it bares to a tick. The device has small little metallic legs each designed with some kind of barbed hooks that retracted when it shorted out. Liam places the chip into a small container and hands it to Bella before looking at me with a fatherly smile. "She's going to need some rest, and without a doubt she's going to need you to give her all of the attention you can."

He turns back toward everyone else, particularly Winifred, and asks, "Now, since we've managed to divert another minor emergency do any of you mind if I take Ms. Pennyworth out for dinner?"

"Just bring her back in one piece." Bella replies absently as she turns her attention back to the chip.

I see Winifred crack a small smile before she leads Dr. Thompkins upstairs, and suddenly my heart begins to ache as I think of my Victoria.

_I'm so sorry Victoria, maybe if I had paid more attention..._ I think as I look at my tesoro, my bella tesoro.

Gently, I lift her up and I watch as Rachel pulls the card from behind her ear. "Call me and let me know if you two need anything."

"We will." I promise, giving her a small nod.

I step on the pad and smile as I hold my Victoria. Moments later we re-emerge in our apartment; her limp body growing heavy in my arms despite how light she is as I walk towards our bed. I gently undress my tesoro while both wincing in sympathy and marveling at her beauty. I grab the ointment she uses when she massages out the bruises and tight muscles I get after patrolling before gently beginning to do the same for her. Her head slowly moves in light tosses and turns until l I am certain that under the mask she is waking up. I reach for the can of aerosol and I spray it on her mask, taking it off with ease and placing a hand on her beautiful face. At this moment I don't see the frightened eyes that I have witnessed for the last few weeks, but instead a twinkling of my Victoria.

"I'm sorry, Halen." She says simply, her large turquoise eyes filled with remorse.

Before she can say another thing I place my finger on her lips. "You have nothing to be sorry over, babydoll. I should be the one saying he's sorry; I've kissed that damned thing that was on you a hundred times and I never noticed it. You suffered and I didn't know why. I should have known better and I'm going to do everything I can to make it up to you." I swear, kissing her as though to seal the promise.

"I just ask that you love me, Halen." Victoria smiles softly, caressing my cheek.

I nod and I kiss her again, but her gentle wince in pain makes me pull back. Softly, I kiss each bruise and I hear a little pleased moan come from her; something that I've missed in the last few weeks. I do my best to please my Victoria. Q's given me my gift by returning to me, and now my gift to her is giving her everything she needs. She lets out a soft moan and looks at me.

"Please... Halen, I want to." She pleads, running her tongue over her lips and causing my desire to grow.

I start to move but she shakes her head, gesturing for me to follow her. I obediently follow her lead and lay down as she moves to straddle me. I can see that she is hurting some, but her determined look seems to win us both over as she lowers herself onto me. I gasp as I feel myself enter her before she leans down to kiss me once we've completely joined together, muting my cries of pleasure. We make love for a mere several minutes, but it is enough for the both of us to find the wondrous peek on top of the mountain of pleasure we had started to climb earlier that evening. She slowly lifts herself off of me and lays down beside me, nibbling my ears. I start to move but instead she drapes a leg across me, indicating that she has no plans of letting me go anywhere.

"Lay by me for a while... Please?" She murmurs, giving me those puppy-dog eyes that drain me of my will power.

I look into her beautiful eyes and I know that I cannot deny her. I nod and shortly after she falls asleep on my chest, my own slumber soon following.

(Victoria's POV)

I find myself hungrier than I've ever been when I wake up, not surprising considering how little I've been eating lately. I rise and I look at my Halen, his well-defined muscles gently glistening from our sweat. I kiss him happily before I make myself get up from our lovely little world and back to reality. The entire ordeal that has happened to me almost seems like a dream, but I know it's not. I know it isn't because I still feel guilty. A part of me realizes that my guilt wasn't caused by Luthor's chip, but rather how I really feel. I have betrayed Halen; it doesn't matter that it was forced, I still strayed from him. I feel sadness overtake me for a moment before I will it away. Halen loves me, he forgives me, and he wants me. I realize that the only person who is holding a grudge about what I did, or rather what I couldn't control, is me.

If Halen can forgive me, then maybe I can forgive myself.

I feel better, as if another large weight is lifted off of my shoulders. My hands grab a skillet as I find the eggs, bacon, and wheat bread for breakfast. In moments I begin to heat the pan and crack my first egg. I watch as it instantly burns to the side of the skillet and a curse escapes my lips. Within minutes I hear someone behind me and I turn to see Halen as his eyes take in the fact that I'm attempting to cook.

"I wanted to do something special." I offer as an explanation.

He grins that perfect, boyish, all too sexy grin of his and walks toward the me. Instead of taking over his arms wrap around my thin body as he guides my hands. Together we fix the first meal that I've ever made, and I decide that perhaps Mainstays skillets aren't completely evil. The people who make them might be, but the skillets themselves can't be all bad if they can help cause moments like these.

(Halen's POV – Four months after Victoria's first breakfast)

I watch as my Victoria eats her third helping of spaghetti, inwardly chuckling at how she went from being so tiny to having an adorable little belly. The small bump she has been carrying with pride for the last two months is something I still touch with wonder, and every time I do she looks at me so tenderly my heart swells with emotion. I can't help but marvel at what is happening inside of her. Inside of that little bump a baby, our baby, is growing. I place a hand on it and rub the bulge soothingly; I don't know if it will be a boy or a girl, but I know for certain that this child and his or her mother will be my world.

"Halen, I'm not much on tradition, but isn't it bad luck to see me before our wedding?" Victoria asks teasingly with a small glint in her eye.

"It's a tradition that I'm willing to overlook. Besides, that's only valid if you're in your dress." I smirk as I walk towards Q and catch her in a kiss, "Speaking of which, Rachel said that she's going to come over and take you out for a Bachelorette party, so be careful my bella teroso."

Her lips twitch into a small grin "I will be." She promises before kissing me and leaving a small spaghetti sauce stain on my cheek.

I see her smile and I do as well, wiping the sauce off of my cheek and then kissing her back to give her the same treatment. We erupt into a fit of laughter as we stand up before Victoria walks to the bedroom and quickly begins to get out of her comfortable clothes and into something a little more formal. I walk in behind her and hug her as she stands in nothing but her panties; my hands moving up her developing belly until they find her breasts, which much to my delight have began increasing in size.

"Halen... Oh..." She whispers as I kiss her neck, kneading the soft flesh in my hands and making her shiver in pleasure.

"I've-I've got to get dressed," She protests, much to my disappointment. With a wicked grin a begin to tease her taunt nipples, "Oh God.. Sto-oh! There... Right there... Mm, I can be late." She finally whimpers, turning to catch me in a searing kiss.

I turn and fall to the bed as she finds the button to my jeans and soon sheds them off of me. I feel her warm hand as she gently grips my cock and strokes it to even more life than it already is.

"My Teroso..." I murmur softly as she pushes herself down on top of me. I smile as she makes that little yelp that she so often does as our pelvic bones touch lightly.

"Oh Halen... Oh God... Oh God, Halen..." Victoria groans as she begins to move faster. I turn us over and she follows my lead, much to my increasing delight. We make love for over an hour and finally I lay beside her completely sated, just like I know she is. If this is how we are before our wedding, we're going to have one hell of a honeymoon.

She kisses my cheek lazily and then looks at the clock, "I'm going to be very, very late."

I watch her fumble out of bed and dart into the bathroom, turning on the shower quickly. "We could both just skip our parties." I suggest, still in the mood to fool around.

"Halen, you've made it a point that I should attempt to make friends. Rachel has become a good friend to me and I don't want to disappoint her. Besides, it will give you a chance to have a little one on one time with Darren."

"Alright, just remember that I suggested it." I sigh in defeat as I stand and quickly pull on my pants.

"What are you doing?" She calls after I'm almost dressed.

"Getting dressed."

"Don't you need a shower?"

"Well... We only have the one." I reply slowly, wondering if the wedding might be making her even more absentminded.

"I didn't say that I wouldn't, share did I?" She smirks.

Smiling, I quickly undress and walk into the bathroom with her.

(Victoria's POV)

The previous night runs through my mind and I smile gently. It's been a long road to this point, and while I know that while I'm not quite the same person I was to begin with, I'm happy. I'm happy with myself and happy to finally be at this place. I look around and I smile again knowing that I am nervous, of all things. I know it's silly but I can't help but be nervous on a day like today. After everything that has happened, all of the times I felt so ashamed, so humiliated, and so unworthy, it has finally lead up to this incredible day. I look at my reflection in the mirror before me, studying the white wedding dress I'm wearing. Rachel, my and Halen's friend, asks if I'm sure about the dress, telling me that she can get another one before the ceremony, but I shake my head.

"It's perfect the way it is." I explain.

And in truth, I know that I'm right. For anyone else this dress might seem plain and simple, but it's beauty isn't from the dress itself; it's from the love that I feel in it. For the first time in my life I feel complete. I gently rub my hand across my slightly swollen belly as a small smile comes to my face. I've forgiven myself, I've moved on, and although I can never repay Halen for all he's done for me I can do this. I can give him a child, our child. I'm smiling because I know that the life growing inside of me will have the best of both of us all rolled into one, a perfect baby just for us.

I turn as I see my old Master Renee Dragon come in and smile, "It's time, Victoria."

I walk out as Renee leads me down the aisle. I don't have a biological father, but this woman giving me away has been a father and mother to me in every sense of the words. The man standing before me smiles brightly and I feel my hand taking his as we stand together.

I hear the priest ask who gives me but I pay no attention. Instead I wait for the ceremony to be over in anticipation on making Halen mine forever.

And when the priest announces me Mrs. Bertinelli, I kiss my husband with everything I have.


	11. Bonus chapter

_**(I want to thank my Co-Author JanaGirl123 for helping with this story. It's been fun to write, and to be honest. It's only increased my love toward this couple. I also want to thank The Lady Isis for the use of her characters: Clara Kent, Bella Wayne-Prince, Damien Prince, Rachel Grayson, Benjamin Gordon, Winifred Pennyworth, Tia Drake, and Olivia Queen-Lance. For those interested there's going to be an kind of official/unofficial sequel to this. Hunter and Question meet Huntress and Question. Hope to see you there. LF)**_

_**The Hunter of the Question**_

_**Bonus Chapter**_

(Alexandra Luthor's POV)

I glare at my current annoyance; the sound of the IV meter beeping in my ear taking everything I have to keep from reaching over and making the stupid thing fall to the ground. My eyes suddenly cast up as I see Percy walk in carrying several folders and I have to admit that he looks good in Giorgio Armani. I watch as he walks near me and sits down; he barely faces me, but then again I know he wouldn't. After all, he has his job because of how he looked. I could say that I based it on his skills as a martial artist, or that he was simply the best body guard/driver I had ever seen, but the truth is I liked the way his ass looked in those cheap LexMart dress pants.

"How is my company doing?" I ask staring shamelessly at that incredible ass of his.

"Alex, right now we're actually doing well. I would say that we are almost on par with Wayne Enterprises." He replies slowly.

I can tell from his tone that the next news won't be pleasant, "What is it?" I groan.

"Alex, someone is attempting to leak information onto the web. I don't know who it is, but they're doing their best to leak out the fact that you had that conspiracy nut job abducted, tortured, and raped. If any newspaper, television studio, or hell even if a campus radio news station finds out about this then we could face some serious repercussions." Percy frowns as he rubs his temples.

I shrug him off with a wave of my hand, "Stop worrying. I've been indited before and LexCorp was never more profitable."

"That's because I ran the company, did a lot of social outreach, and donated quite a bit to charities. That's the kind of action we need again if we're going to make it through this." Percy explains, giving me a glare.

"Tell me, is that television crew still here? The one who was attempting to get a story?"

"I believe so. What do they have to do with anything?" Mr. Fine-ass asks.

"Have them come in. I have a story for them." I smirk, my mind already working out a plan for figuring out how to get out of this.

I ignore Percy as he tries to convince me not to do this. At the moment I don't care how incredible his ass is, I'm doing this whether he likes it or not. Not only will it give me a break from my boredom but it will also give me a chance to seem like a humanitarian in all of this. The public, as I've learned, is the dumbest group of imbeciles on the planet.

Finally Percy gives up and moments later the entire television crew comes into my room. I sit up pretending to wince at the pain in my body and look at a young, hopeful journalist. By the looks of things he's about twenty-three, hasn't been broke in yet, and seems to have that small gleam in his eyes. I instantly decide that he's my next conquest the moment I get out of here.

"Ms Luthor, we want to thank you for taking the time to speak to us." The young hopeful says.

"Of course, and it's fine. I want to speak to you and to the world." I lie in my far-too-friendly tone.

"Ms. Luthor, let me begin with the all too important question; was this done to you by Superwoman?" He inquires.

"Actually, no, this time it wasn't. This time the person who broke in on me, violated my safety, and who..." I pause as the tears begin to flow, fighting back a smile at the sympathetic looks on their faces as I force myself to cry for show, "viciously beat me was a lesser known costumed vigilante called the Hunter. He broke in unannounced, unwelcomed, and then preceded to beat me within an inch of my life." I choke out, turning my face away from the camera.

"That had to be hard to face, Ms. Luthor. I'm so sorry." He murmurs, placing his hand over mine in sympathy.

I grin inwardly at the softness of his hands and gentle touch. Oh, he will be fun to break. Perhaps I shall tie him up to the headboard of the bed we'll share.

"It was difficult, but I've learned that the only thing a person can do is continue to survive no matter what life throws at you." I smile bravely, squeezing his hand.

Suddenly, his expression begins to turn. I watch this young man I plan to ride like an unruly horse go from a gentle soul to a hardened journalist in moments. So much for contaminating an innocent virgin.

"Ma'am, would you mind explaining this to us?" He asks as he presses play on a recorder.

"Percy, are you back already?" I hear my voice say on the recorded tape as my heart begins to sink. _Damn it_.

"Do you know why I'm here?" Hunter's voice crackles over the static.

"Not really." I reply on the tape, my mind quickly trying to come up with an excuse for this.

"You had her tortured, had her subjected to vivid hallucinations, and then you had her raped you bitch." Hunter's voice snarls in response, the sound of his fists clenching echoing around the room.

"You'll have to be more specific…I've had that done to a lot of people." I hear myself say, and at that moment I realize I am officially screwed.

I don't pay attention to the tape any longer knowing full well what happens after that. I remember the way Hunter grabbing me and slamming me into my desk, the way his leather clad hands grabbed my should and twisted it until it broke, punches to my ribs, my kidneys, the sound of my right arm breaking. That son of a bitch really let me have it.

I turn toward the young journalist as he glares at me, "Would you care to explain to the public how and why you said that?"

I look at Percy and nod. Moments later the television crew leaves as I look at the window outside knowing the fallout is going to be heavy. Lexcorp stock is going to fall at least twenty percent if I'm lucky, but that's fine. Let it fall, because it will climb right back up. Hunter might not realize it now, but he's gained a deadly enemy. Oh, Superwoman is going to pay as well, but Hunter... I'm going to ensure that his suffering is legendary. No one fucks with Alexandra Luthor and gets away with it.

No one.

END


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